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Somalia Car Bomb Attack Leaves at least 65 Dead; Trump Impeachment; Australia Bush Fires; Best of 2019 Stories that Brought Us Hope; Navy SEALs Paint Disturbing Picture of Eddie Gallagher; China's Space Exploration; Britain Announces New Year's Honours List. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired December 28, 2019 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A massive suicide attack in Somalia, leaves dozens of people dead, the latest ahead including a claim of responsibility.

Bracing for winter weather. Large parts of the United States are in store for a lot of snow, a lot of ice and a lot of rain.

Plus, the new space race, an all out of this world showdown between China and the United States.

We are live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. And we want to welcome our viewers here and the United States and all around the world. I'm George Howell, CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

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HOWELL: And we begin with the breaking news this hour at 5:01 here on the U.S. East Coast, coming out of Somalia, a government spokesperson says a suicide bomb car attack in the city of Mogadishu has left at least 65 people dead. Let's go to Kenya, our Farai Sevenzo has the story.

Farai, what more can you tell us?

FARAI SEVENZO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, George. With this kind of attack and responsibility has happened again. It's just a government spokesman told CNN that the death toll is now 65. Of course, we expect that to fluctuate over the next few hours.

What we know, the search for a suicide car bomber, a well-known (INAUDIBLE) Somalia's (INAUDIBLE) Mogadishu.

HOWELL: I'm afraid we may have to step of out of Farai Sevenzo's phone interview with us. Again, he's on the ground there in neighboring Kenya, telling us again that the death toll, now at least 65 dead. We also understand the claim of responsibility. The Al Qaeda affiliate al Shabaab has claimed responsibility.

We'll continue to stay in contact with our Farai Sevenzo there as he learns more and we pass things along as we follow the story.

Now to the state of Hawaii, teams there on the ground, they're set to resume the search for one person still missing after a tourist helicopter crashed on Thursday. The remains of six people on board have been recovered. Our Josh Campbell has details from Hawaii.

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JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: The crash site in a remote area inside a state park in the northwest section of the island of Kauai. This tourism helicopter was one of many that you typically see here in Hawaii, a popular attraction that allows tourists the ability to look inside volcanoes, at waterfalls, to get a sense of the state's landscape and wildlife, a routine tourist excursion ending in tragedy.

This all began on Thursday afternoon. The Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy as well as Kauai Fire and Rescue were alerted after the tourism helicopter failed to return to base at its allotted time. That missing aircraft report launched a massive search and rescue effort involving multiple agencies throughout the night, working some 16 hours by sea, air and land.

As far as the cause of this incident, that remains under investigation. We're told that officials from the National Transportation Safety Board as well as the Federal Aviation Administration are currently on the way here to launch that investigation to get to that root cause.

We're told earlier reports possibly point to inclement weather, especially high winds. Now as far as those who were on board, sad developments we are learning today from officials. We are told that in addition to the pilot, there were two families aboard, including four adults, two children.

Officials announcing the remains from six of those people have been recovered, a search for the seventh continues -- Josh Campbell, CNN, Honolulu.

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HOWELL: A major development to tell you about in Kazakhstan after a crash there.

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HOWELL: Investigators found the black boxes belonging to a passenger jet that crashed on Friday. Those boxes will be sent to Moscow for decryption.

In the meantime, Kazakhstan is observing a day of mourning for the 12 people killed there. Dozens more were injured; 98 people were on board that Dek Air flight. The aircraft known as a Fokker 100 plane plunged to the ground just seconds into the flight, broke through a concrete barrier and hit a two-story building. A committee is investigating what caused the crash but as a

precaution, all Fokker planes in the country have been temporarily grounded.

Now to the impeachment of Donald Trump, his demand for a speedy Senate trial is going nowhere fast. And judging from his Twitter feed, he's apparently ruining his holiday getaway in Florida. We get more now from CNN's Boris Sanchez.

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sources tell CNN that, behind the scenes at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump is increasingly frustrated with the standstill in the impeachment process. He is effectively in limbo.

And sources are telling us he has expressed and vented his frustration to aides. All of this is coming as the Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has voiced ambivalence to what a Senate trial might look like. The president has repeatedly said he wants a show, live witnesses and he wants to, in his eyes, be vindicated by bashing Democrats.

He has settled into a bit of a routine at Mar-a-Lago. He sends out these mean tweets, almost a dozen directed at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Then he goes golfing and comes back to Mar-a-Lago, where he mingles with family and friends. Some of those friends, we should point out, don't have as much access to him when he's at the White House. And they frequently egg on some of his uglier instincts and that leads to more mean tweets.

He is spending some time with White House officials there, though; Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser arrived at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday for several days. He's expected to be there. The acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, also on hand. He arrived last weekend.

One notable absence is the White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who, initially, we were told, was expected to arrive at Mar-a-Lago and spend some time with the president. He has yet to arrive. It's unclear if that plan has changed. Or if he may wind up showing up at Mar-a-Lago, a bit later on the schedule, as we get closer to Congress getting back in the session in the new year -- Boris Sanchez, CNN, traveling with the president in West Palm Beach, Florida.

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HOWELL: There are also questions what's next for U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo, Pompeo has been clear he's not interested in running for the Senate and any reports are, quote, "completely false." Still, there are signs that Pompeo, what he says may be different from what he does.

Things like this, his brand-new social media profile that reads husband, father, Kansan and proud American. A softer look than the buttoned down State Department account. Some question whether that's a sign if he is indeed interested in a run for Senate. And a source says the White House is working on a list of possible replacements.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is said to be interested but deputy secretary Stephen Biegun would be a natural choice. He's number two at the agency already and he could fill in as acting secretary for many months. Another possibility is Robert O'Brien, now the national security adviser.

Let's bring in Scott Lucas. Scott, professor of international politics, live this morning in Birmingham, England.

SCOTT LUCAS, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM: Happy holidays, George.

HOWELL: Same to you. Let's start here with the impasse between the U.S. House of Representatives, the Senate and House Speaker keeping close to the vest her plans whether or if to move forward. The Senate majority calling her bluff.

Do you think this is indeed putting pressure on Mitch McConnell?

LUCAS: Well, whether or not McConnell's feeling pressure, he's the key person here. That is, Trump, look, it's a distraction, talking about Mike Pompeo is a distraction. Bottom line is Mitch McConnell is blocking witnesses, he's blocking documents from being presented in any trial of Donald Trump.

A trial without witnesses and a trial without documents in the view of Nancy Pelosi and in the view of many others is not really a trial. Now the question is not whether McConnell is under pressure from Pelosi and the Democrats, it's whether Republicans in the Senate will break away from McConnell.

While it requires a two-thirds vote to convict Donald Trump, it only requires a simple majority to overrule McConnell and say, yes, we will have a complete trial. We will put this evidence on the record not just for jurors but for the American people.

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HOWELL: I want to get your side of the story that the president is accusing Democrats of playing games by withholding the articles of impeachment. Democrats point to the fact that though the president claims he is innocent, though he claims he wants to produce witnesses, he is the one who is blocking witnesses.

Scott, how significant is all of that?

LUCAS: Well, George, this is the political equivalent of a criminal trial. Anyone in a criminal trial, whether for murder, arson or some serious offense, look, we don't want to hear from witnesses, we don't want evidence presented, they would sort of scratch their heads.

And that is the bottom line here, that, if you want to defend Trump, if you want to defend McConnell, that there should not be witnesses, go ahead and do so. But do not pretend that Nancy Pelosi is the roadblock here. The House has done its job. They have passed the articles of

impeachment. The House has had open hearings. It is now the Senate's responsibility to define the rules for what occurs. And you cannot blame Nancy Pelosi, who, as far as I know, is not a senator, for any delay which is being caused by the upper chamber.

HOWELL: And also the questions around the U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo, what 2020 may mean for him. These reports that he may want to run for Senate. It is leaving some uncertainty in what's next for that vital role, especially when you consider, Scott that Mike Pompeo and the U.S. president do seem to get along.

LUCAS: Well, American foreign policy is in turmoil right now because of what is effectively chaos in the Trump administration. And Mike Pompeo jumping ship to run for Senate in Kansas would add to it.

George, I need to be honest with you, Mike Pompeo running off to the Midwest to run for Senate is not my priority right now. And this headline is not my priority. My priority for Mike Pompeo is what did he say when Rudy Giuliani called him in March and Trump's personal attorney reported on the disinformation campaign and the effort on removing the U.S. ambassador Marie Yovanovitch from her post.

What did Mike Pompeo say then? And when according to possible witnesses, he was told of the possible link between freezing military aid to Ukraine and pressure by Trump for investigations, what was his response?

In short, the priority is not Mike Pompeo in Kansas. It's whether Mike Pompeo should be testifying as part of Trump's trial in early 2020.

HOWELL: That is a question. We'll see what happens come 2020 with this trial. Scott Lucas live for us in Birmingham, England. Thank you, Scott.

LUCAS: Thank you, George.

HOWELL: Still ahead here on NEWSROOM live, parts of the United States are bracing for the worst. A powerful winter storm could bring treacherous conditions to central United States.

After being punished by U.S. military but absolved by President Trump, we're now hearing what Eddie Gallagher's former platoon members thought of the retired Navy SEAL. Stand by.

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HOWELL: You're looking at pictures of I-5 freeway in California. Take a look at this. Officials were forced to shut it down for 36 hours beginning Thursday. A major storm near the town of Grapevine in southern California, created dangerous conditions on the interstate. It reopened late on Friday.

Many drivers there were seen sleeping in their cars on I-5 in the overnight near the freeway's entrance.

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HOWELL: As bush fires rage on in Australia, lighting open fires is now banned in New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory. Firefighters are working around the clock to contain these fires that have been raging now for three weeks.

Authorities have been telling residents to get to safety early. One grandmother said she cheated death as everything around her burned. Mark Mooney has more.

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MARK MOONEY, SEVEN NETWORK CORRESPONDENT: Returning to the charred wreck of her RAV4, this is where Dan-yella McDermott thought her life was over.

DAN-YELLA MCDERMOTT, FIRE VICTIM: Coming back, you don't realize how bad it was.

MOONEY: It was late Friday afternoon.

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MOONEY: The blaze was tearing from the Adelaide hills straight toward Dan-yella and Jim's property. So Dan-yella packed the car with valuables and hit the road with their dog but soon realized it was too late.

D. MCDERMOTT: Everywhere else was black and burning.

MOONEY: As she tried to outrun the fire, her car flipped on its side. Dan-yella couldn't get out. With flames licking at the car, she made a frantic phone call to Jim.

JIM MCDERMOTT, FIRE VICTIM: All I heard was I'm trapped in the car and it's burning.

D. MCDERMOTT: I don't know that he heard me.

MOONEY: It was only by a stroke of luck that Dan-yella was able to make that fateful phone call. When the car rolled, everything in it was sent out of reach and, trapped in her seat, the only thing Dan- yella could get her hands on was her mobile phone because it was still attached to its charger.

She managed to get out, but Jack the dog was still inside.

D. MCDERMOTT: So I had to get back in the car, smashed the window out a bit more to grab him out to come out the window because I couldn't have left him in the car. I could see the back of the car was on fire.

MOONEY: Jim, meanwhile, had gone out searching; as he rounded this bend, his heart sank.

J. MCDERMOTT: The car was ablaze and I thought she had died.

MOONEY: But Dan-yella and Jack had fled into a burned-out paddock.

J. MCDERMOTT: I heard the voice, I'm here, I'm here.

MOONEY: They made it back to their property to find part of it burning but the home still standing while these priceless possessions could never be replaced. They emerged with the most precious thing of all.

MCDERMOTT: This.

MOONEY: Mark Mooney, Seven News.

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HOWELL: Mark, thank you, we'll continue to follow the story there.

We also know now that the fires in Australia are harming the koala population. At this hospital, they've been caring for dozens of the animals. Australia's environment minister estimates up to 30 percent of koalas may have been killed in New South Wales. She made that estimate because 30 percent of the habitat has been destroyed. They'll get a better picture and once things calm down; $6 million has been put aside to save and rehabilitate the koalas.

There's a lot of talk about death, war and devastation dominating the headlines in 2019. But now, we take a look at some of the more endearing and even surprising moments of the past year. Scott McLean has this, the brighter moments.

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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For a lot of people in a lot of places, 2019 was a tough year. There were protests and crackdowns, disinformation wars and conventional ones, too. Of all the words to describe the past year, uplifting probably wasn't one of them.

But there were a few words to smile. In Lebanon, the biggest protests in more than a decade were a frightening scene for a 15-month-old baby. But not for long. A chorus of protesters near Beirut gave the child and the country a brief respite from the political crisis.

It was a different kind of crisis that inspired a Swedish teenager to stage a weekly protest demanding action on climate change. Greta Thunberg's message hasn't always been always well received but plenty of people found inspiration in a team uniting millions around the world this year.

GRETA THUNBERG, CLIMATE ACTIVIST: We are around the world watching again and we will keep on doing it until they listen. MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): On the Galapagos islands, a giant tortoise was spotted in 2019. Thought to be extinct for more than a century, the extremely rare member of the species was spotted in February. Researchers think she's not the only one.

Researchers in the lab made breakthroughs that gave hope to millions. For the second time ever, an HIV patient went into sustained remission, showing no active signs of the virus for 18 months. Separately, scientists made progress in identifying the genetic variance for risk of Alzheimer's.

On the road, Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge did what no other human had ever done, finishing a marathon in less than two hours.

ELIUD KIPCHOGE, MARATHON RUNNER: I want to inspire many people.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Boundaries were also pushed in Botswana, after a court struck down laws criminalizing homosexuality. And Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. And it was the South African rugby team who taught us a lesson about teamwork.

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MCLEAN (voice-over): It was the third World Cup title for the former apartheid state but the first one with a black captain, Siya Kolisi a beacon of hope to young South Africans became a global sensation trading poverty in the townships for glory on the pitch.

SIYA KOLISI, SBOK CAPTAIN: We're grateful to see that we are able to touch a nation and the world with power.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Their historic win took place in Japan where one city had to fire its tourism mascot after videos of a rogue impostor spread quickly across social media, dancing on poles and making a mess.

The unsanctioned behavior prompted complaints in Japan but gave the rest of the world a much needed laugh -- Scott McLean, CNN, London.

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HOWELL: It's good to be reminded of those many positive stories of 2019.

China wrapping up 2019 with a successful rocket launch with more planned missions for the future.

Could this be the beginning of a new space race?

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HOWELL: Welcome back to viewers here in the United States and around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta. I'm George Howell with headlines we're following at this hour.

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HOWELL: There's new controversy surrounding the U.S. Navy SEAL whose court-ordered punishment was reversed by President Trump. "The New York Times" has obtained video of his former platoon members describing him in grim terms to investigators. Our Barbara Starr has this disturbing report.

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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Members of SEAL Team 7 Alpha platoon broke their own code of silence in 2018 with their opinions about retired Special Operations chief Eddie Gallagher and some making accusations that the elite SEAL committed murder and potential war crimes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The guy got crazier and crazier.

STARR (voice-over): These are portions of recorded Navy SEAL interviews published by "The New York Times," where team members tell investigators their views on the platoon leader.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The guy was toxic. It's (INAUDIBLE).

STARR (voice-over): Gallagher was acquitted of premeditated murder when a key prosecution witness changed his story and testified under immunity that he caused the prisoner's death, not Gallagher.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you suffocate him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By holding my thumb over his ET tube until he stopped breathing.

STARR (voice-over): Scott described the killing as an act of mercy because he was concerned the boy, a prisoner of Iraqi forces, would be tortured by them.

Gallagher was convicted on a charge of taking a photo with a dead ISIS fighter and was then demoted in rank, a decision President Trump reversed, allowing the SEAL to retire with honor, even after Pentagon leaders urged the president not to interfere.

Speaking through his attorney, Gallagher told CNN, "My first reaction to seeing the videos was surprise and disgust that they would make up blatant lies about me. But I quickly realized that they were scared that the truth would come out of how cowardly they acted on deployment."

His attorney says the tapes were, quote, "a road map to acquittal" because they showed there were conflicting stories about allegations of Gallagher killing civilians and other misconduct.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really, you're only seeing one very small slice of the story in a way that's not reflective of what the ultimate result was.

STARR (voice-over): President Trump's determination to reverse the military's punishment of Gallagher against the advice of top Pentagon officials was so controversial, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer was ousted. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff insists that discipline and adherence to the laws of war will not suffer.

GEN. MARK MILLEY, USJC CHAIRMAN: We do maintain and we will maintain good order and discipline. We will not turn into a gang of raping, burning and pillaging.

STARR (voice-over): But some say it's all led to festering bad feelings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it's this kind of divisiveness that the president's actions have introduced into the SEAL community I think that are the most damaging and will have long-term effects.

STARR (voice-over): Gallagher met with Trump over the holidays at Mar-a-Lago and it's possible he will campaign for Trump if asked, those who know him say -- Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

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HOWELL: After a setback, China is back in space.

Plus, Britain will soon have more knights and dames. Who gets the top honors next year.

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HOWELL: China is celebrating the successful launch of a rocket that put a communications satellite into orbit on Friday as part of a project that started 18 years ago. And as our David Culver reports, it could position that country for a far more ambitious space mission.

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DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: China is soaring out of 2019 and into 2020 with a major achievement. Late Friday the China national space administration launched its Long March 5 rocket into space.

The powerful rocket is designed to carry up to 25 tons of payload into low orbit but it's also seen as crucial to the future of China's space program. ALEXANDER WAI, HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY: From the space station from the mission to Mars, to the moon, all part of the project.

CULVER (voice-over): At the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, professor Alexander Wai watched the launch a bit anxious. His team's research has contributed to an upcoming moon mission.

WAI: All the mission that rely on this new rocket had to be on hold, waiting for this rocket to be functional.

CULVER (voice-over): Future missions were delayed more than two years after the failed launch that was not only a scientific setback but bruised egos.

LEROY CHIAO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: In China's space program first and foremost and any national space program is about national pride and prestige.

CULVER: China was late to the space race. It was not until the United States put the first man on the moon that China launched its first satellite into space. In the decades since, the country has pumped billions of dollars and other resources into training and research.

CHIAO: There are countries definitely paying attention to the Chinese space program. China has made it clear they're in it for the long haul. They're in it for the long investment. They've already marked up several successes both in unmanned probes and human spaceflight as well.

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CULVER (voice-over): Earlier this year, China was the first country to land a probe on the far side of the moon. But 2020s have been maiming for another moon mission a manned space station and a mission to Mars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Chinese are ambitious. If everything goes well, we'll see things come along.

CULVER (voice-over): Leaving past failures behind, China now enters the new decade determined to raise new horizons -- David Culver, CNN, Hong Kong.

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HOWELL: Let's talk more about this with Rajeswari Rajagopalan, the head of the nuclear and space policy initiative at the Observer Research Foundation, as well as a senior Asia defense writer for "The Diplomat."

It's good to have you with us.

RAJESWARI RAJAGOPALAN, OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION: Thank you. HOWELL: Let's start by delving deeper into what China's ambitions may be with regard to space, as the United States looking ahead to Mars, China focused in on the moon. Why?

What are your thoughts there?

RAJAGOPALAN: No, clearly, I think the moon missions are back in fashion. The number of countries wanting to do a lunar mission for a number of different reasons. One is to secure a base before you move on to undertake interplanetary missions.

And then resource politics, different minerals that are abundantly available on the moon but also the presence of water, all of that has made the moon a very attractive option. So the return to the moon, competition is picking up. But there are a number of commercial players also who are beginning to pay attention to the lunar missions in the coming years.

HOWELL: You mentioned that keyword, competition. Let's talk a bit more about that and how China views competition from the United States, specifically, with regard to the Space Force that will be the sixth branch of the U.S. military. China taking it very seriously.

RAJAGOPALAN: Sure, absolutely. No, I think whether you like it or not, whether or not Trump does something that can be policy on security issues or economic issues, it does raise a lot of attention it does get a lot of media headlines.

But I will only say that the Space Force that has been established through this space policy is the latest activations in a series of actions, actually. There have been a number of other countries who have taken such institutional measures, prior to the Space Force coming into being.

For instance, back in 2011, Russia reinvented its mechanisms to come up with the Russian space force. Its own Russian space force. In 2015, China undertook major institutional changes to bring about the support force which is responsible for China's efforts in space, cyberspace and electronic warfare.

So bringing the two together, very combined effect on future warfare. So I think a number of different countries that have done this ought to be -- and I don't think it should be a surprise to anybody that the U.S. was going to do this.

And secondly, the other important aspect is that this is more about bringing together, a lot more integration of the different functions to bring about better coordination of the different agencies.

The Space Force is really not a fighting force as of now. We're not seeing specialized special agencies as combat forces. They are more in terms of bringing about better coordination, better integration. But we need to clearly take steps to avoid the militarization or weaponization trend towards it, so we do not end up actually having a combat situation in outer space. HOWELL: You describe it in logical terms. But there is, as we saw in the last space race, that paranoia, the concerns that countries have when they see a country doing something they want to do.

Are you essentially setting the pace here for what seems like another space race?

RAJAGOPALAN: Absolutely, you saw France say they are going to have a definite space strategy. You had Japan coming out and saying they're going to investing money for that. So clearly the trend is where you're seeing more and more countries are beginning to kind of use space in a much more conventional military operation sense.

And I think that's something that's a big difference that I see with the Cold War period of competition. During the Cold War, you had the U.S. and the Soviets, they were interested in space.

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RAJAGOPALAN: But they were using space primarily for strategic operations as opposed to today, where you're seeing the countries using space primarily a lot more for conventional military operations, because it does bring in conventional operational apparatus and tactical advantage to countries using these assets.

So there is a big difference in terms of the competition you're seeing in the big spaces being used.

The third important aspect is countries are actually moving away from. There have been some spots in the rise of -- the return of anti- satellite capabilities, with India for instance.

Even so, I would say because of the long-lasting effect of countries that are also looking for other options, for instance, cyber and electronic warfare mechanisms, means to create disruption or permanent damage to satellites and satellite systems.

Those are also much cheaper options and much more accessible. It does give you a possibility of saying it's not simply to engage a country that's engaged in a cyberattack on a satellite system. It does not become very clear as to who has committed that particular attack.

So I think the possibility of deniability and so on, so forth, makes it a much more attractive option. And jamming techniques are much easier. The technology for jamming are easily accessible, you know, one would buy it online for a couple of hundred of bucks, actually.

So these are also cheaper and more attractive options increasingly for a number of different states.

HOWELL: These are indeed emerging threats as some nations see them and they're taking actions on them. Thank you again for your time.

RAJAGOPALAN: Thank you.

HOWELL: In the United Kingdom, they are announcing some of the top honors for that nation. And they will be awarded in royal fashion. More on who's joining the coveted ranks of knights and dames and how the queen is involved in that. Stay with us.

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HOWELL: There will soon be dozens of new dames, knights and other top honors awarded in Britain, now that the U.K. has released its new year's Honours List. Among the new dames is singer and actress Olivia Newton-John, awarded not only for her work in entertainment but her charity work and support of cancer research.

Singer Elton John will also see his knighthood status elevated to Companion of Honour. And award-winning director Steve McQueen, known for the movie "12 Years a Slave," is receiving a knighthood for services to art and film.

It's not just celebrities getting recognition, more than 1,000 people will receive honors. Many of them will be given by the queen herself. Let's bring in royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams.

What is the deal, how do you get on it and what are the perks for being named?

RICHARD FITZWILLIAMS, ROYALTY COMMENTATOR: Well, what's happens is, we have a very complex system of honors. One of the great advantages is there are grades in the system; 90 percent are on the orders of British empire. And you go up several grades.

There's always an initiative and incentive. What you have also is either the queen or another member of the royal family bestow this honor upon you in an investiture. So that often is the highlight of the lives of many people.

As you mentioned, 1,100 new names and this has been the trend for some years, two trends, firstly, you tend to have -- 70 percent have links with philanthropy. So they've done something for the community or for charity as well as the main job.

Finally, there's gender equality, almost, 51 percent of the honors to women, 44 percent in the higher grade. So that is positive.

HOWELL: Were there any surprises?

Either people who were named or those who were left off?

FITZWILLIAMS: Well, when it comes to surprises, there was a lot of speculation about Alison Saunders, who was, putting it mildly, very controversial as head of the -- it was the department of public prosecutions and not thought appropriate by many to be honored. Very often the honors make, I think an error here, because they put a

civil servant in who shouldn't be or is controversial. And that tends to overshadow some of the list.

For example, there were several of England's cricketers, the sporting honors with all the triumphs in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, this has been a trounce (ph) as far as Britain is concerned.

I would suggest some broadcasters, Jeremy Paxman, John Humphrys and Andrew (sic) Maher may not be international names.

How about David Beckham getting a knighthood?

I mean, he is international but there are also rumors why he's had only an OBE that was in 2003.

HOWELL: All right. Richard, a very tight amount of time to ask you an important question here but the queen herself, 2019's been a rough year, to say the least. For example, her husband, Prince Philip, had health problems. There are reports of her grandsons, Prince William and Harry, growing apart.

Also the drama surrounding Harry's marriage to Meghan Markle. Not to mention the trolling that Meghan faced. And last but not least, the controversy surrounding her son, Prince Andrew, surrounding his ties with Jeffrey Epstein.

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HOWELL: How do you think she's dealing with all of this?

FITZWILLIAMS: I think that the queen must be feeling very grieved. If you look back to the 1990s, there were a great number of difficulties and disasters that beset the royal family.

This century, so far, everything was so positive and now you've just listed a series of problems. There was also a car crash in which the Duke of Edinburgh was involved. In two days he was seen without a seat belt in a new Land Rover.

As far as Harry and Meghan are concerned, we're waiting to see what happens in the new year. But their relationship with the media and the fact that they feel very ill at ease and stressed was clear in the documentary about their trip in South Africa.

This puts a question mark over what exactly the royal duties they want. I think their foundation will launch big in the new year.

As far as the Yorks are concerned, it's absolutely toxic, that interview that Andrew gave about his friendship with the deceased Jeffrey Epstein and the whole backlash after that. The fact that one of his daughters, Princess Beatrice, is being married in the new year. How will that be handled?

And also what about the victims and the future legal complications?

All of this raises big question marks. As you say, a terrible year for the royal family. I just hope next year isn't.

HOWELL: Richard, thank you for time.

Around the world and in the U.S., I thank you for being with us. I'm George Howell for CNN NEWSROOM in Atlanta, more news after the break.